Seraphim barely had enough time to elaborate on her claims before Light stole the moment.

The clone began handing out the sheets in its hand with a cocky and proud look.

Halo's jaw dropped the moment he looked. The handwriting was his. The phrasing and the awkward sentence structure, all of it was his mediocre style, exactly.

But that slight humor vanished not long after.

His suspicions were right, Light knew more about the Sinners than it had initially told them. The clone took its time to write everything it saw on Inferno Moist in detail.

"Are you sure about this, Light?"

Seraph asked, and Light responded with a nod.

Halo sighed.

Light claimed the Crawlers were created by something airborne. It had observed many Sinners fleeing in panic, their breath coming in gasps as if choking on the air itself.

However, when they returned, they appeared more powerful and were somehow attracted to the castle. Light recognized them as Crawlers immediately.

The transformation only affected Perverted and Toddler Sinners, since no other Sinner types wandered beyond their own territories.

This gave Halo some insight about the Crawlers. The first one he killed was back at Silent Hill, about a dozen lands away.

When he saw it, the creature had shown those same signs Light described, heavy breath and fatigued. It was slowly transforming before his eyes. This clarified everything.

"Yeah… that's true. The first Crawler I killed was far from here."

Halo addressed the room.

"It seems that exposure to the air overwhelms them. They can only develop into Crawlers when they're beyond the reach of this land... it has to be the red energy."

"Seems like it, but why would they come back though? Why the castle?"

Liam spoke up with his confusion evident in his eyes.

Seraph sighed and took her seat.

Halo began massaging his brow, drowning in thoughts. They couldn't confirm the Sinner that covered the crimson land behind them was turning Sinners into Crawlers, but they couldn't ignore the possibility either.

"Mill was definitely hiding something. If his Flaw's anything like mine, then he probably kept part of the Fade of Bridle's truth from us. Not out of deceit, but… maybe to keep us safe."

Seraph's expression grew grim. "I don't trust him though."

Fade of Bridle, the legend supposedly responsible for everything. They'd learned something about this man and yet knew nothing. Could he truly be alive, or was he already dead? But at least they knew he once lived in the castle.

"What if Fade of Bridle is the Sinner we saw on Inferno Land?"

Halo and Seraph turned to Liam with a startled look.

Halo had considered that alternative ever since he heard of Fade of Bridle, but for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to believe that. Something felt off about that idea…

"I don't think so. Why would the Crawlers come all the way to the castle? To find Kysa?"

Seraphim said before rising to her feet.

"No doubt, the source lies somewhere in this castle. But until it reveals its true form, we'll never solve this mystery."

As soon as she spoke, she began leaving the room.

"I will need some time alone, guys…"

The moment she left, Halo found himself alone as Liam and Light also followed suit.

He was seated, his body slightly leaned into his seat. It had been settled between them what must happen next, they would have to fight the Crawlers if this went south. But truthfully, none of them were strong enough to pull that off so casually.

'Status.'

The moment the words echoed in his mind, the bronze screen appeared before his eyes.

***

[ Name: Halo D. Tenebris

Title: Shadow of Death

Rank: Knight

True ability: Death Clone - - - Description:

Flaw: Coldness

Only Sin: Death

Nemesis:?

—

Sin Fragments: 38/10000

Dominant Skill: Speed

Clones: 2 ]

***

With his clone, Tough, killing and obtaining Sin Fragments on his behalf, he was growing stronger even without trying. But this still wasn't enough. The Sinner he'd seen wasn't something thirty-eight Sin Fragments could counter. He doubted even a thousand or ten thousand could.

He'd been training, alright, but Seraph and Liam ran shifts on fighting Tough, a Beast Sinner. Though none of them had managed to defeat it yet, this wasn't something he could boast about.

He needed to train harder.

***

"Can you give me some time, Halo…"

Seraph said as she sat behind her canvas, drawing.

It was already morning, and Halo found himself before Seraphim. Halo had spent his entire night training, practicing every martial arts technique he could think of, but the morning came in a bizarre twist.

Everyone acted as though nothing was at stake, and now he had to attend a painting session with Seraph, just like how they'd done before the entire ordeal.

"What are you drawing? A new vision?"

Seraph gave him a subtle nod.

"I am almost done, I'll attend to you soon."

Halo sighed.

Seraph's foresight wasn't directly connected to her ability. It was rather a defense mechanism to help her adapt to this world. Out of fear, she began seeing bigger threats before they even happened.

Halo knew they weren't accurate. She'd drawn Tough before it ever appeared, and though some details were missing or misleading, the creature showed up to fight them regardless.

But seeing her paint another one in his haze era made him uneasy. She could only draw things that frightened her, and considering she'd been training with a fearsome Sinner like Tough, it was unlikely the Sinner she was drawing was merely on Tough's level.

"Is it the Sinner I think it is?"

Seraph turned to Halo with a confused look.

"No… I mean, I don't know. I think I am already losing this ability."

Halo massaged his temples.

This was one of her ability's flaws, she'd most likely lose it the moment she stopped fearing the world. This was going to be a huge blow to them, but it also meant she'd grow as a person.

"I think you have to let it go…"

Seraph turned to Halo with her expression no different from her previous one.

"I mean your foresight. Let it go. Vision or not, you're strong enough to survive in this world."

Seraph stared deep into Halo's blue eyes with her faded ones for a while before smiling.

"Thank you, Halo."

Of course, this didn't come from a place of love. If he could force the vision out of her, then he would. It could've helped him with a lot of things. But at the time, he didn't want to depend on it. That would make him reluctant.

"I am done, Halo."

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